Monroe County prosecutors appeal gun ruling in slain trooper case
By COLIN McEVOY
The Express-Times
September 11, 2010
Monroe County prosecutors have appealed a ruling that shot down their charges against Emily Gross, the woman accused of buying the gun that eventually killed state Trooper Joshua Miller.
But the Pennsylvania Superior Court may not render a decision on the appeal until as late as next summer, prosecutors said Friday.
Emily Gross, 25, allegedly purchased a gun for her boyfriend, Palmer Township resident Daniel Autenrieth, who was forbidden from having one by a court order.
Autenrieth used that gun to kill Miller on June 7, 2009, after kidnapping his 9-year-old son from his estranged wife and leading police on a car chase. Autenrieth was also shot and killed.
The Monroe County District's Attorney office charged Gross with criminal conspiracy and accomplice liability.
But in a July 15 ruling, Monroe County Judge Jennifer Sibum dismissed the charges, claiming they were filed in the wrong venue.
The gunfight that killed Miller and Autenrieth took place on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township.
But Gross, of Westfield, N.J., purchased the gun at Cabela's outdoors store in Berks County, and was staying with Autenrieth at his home in Northampton County.
In her 24-page ruling, Sibum said charges should have been filed in one of those two counties, and that Monroe County prosecutors lacked jurisdiction.
A message to Gross' attorney, George Westervelt, was not returned Friday.
Monroe County District Attorney David Christine appealed Sibum's decision the day it was issued.
"The Commonwealth believes because Mr. Autenrieth continued his possession of the weapon given to him in Northampton County into Monroe County, that we have jurisdiction," he said Friday. "Judge Sibum disagrees. That leaves it to the Superior Court to decide."
But Christine said it typically takes a year from the date of the appeal before the Superior Court renders a verdict, meaning it might not be resolved until July 2011.
"It's not a short process," he said.
In addition to the jurisdiction question, Christine's appeal argues Sibum erred in dismissing the charges rather than transferring it to another county or venue.
Federal charges also have been filed against Gross. Although they relate to the same allegations, they are a separate matter and Sibum's verdict does not affect them, Christine said.
A Philadelphia hearing on the federal charges is currently scheduled for October, according to court documents.
Gross has previously claimed she didn't know a court order barred Autenrieth from owning a gun.
But prosecutors have argued she went to great lengths to get that weapon into his hands.
When she was told she would have to wait six months to purchase a gun, she changed her address to that of Autenrieth and bought a gun in Pennsylvania that day, prosecutors previously said.
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